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UA to Provide Training to Increase Number of Certified Nurse Examiners

Sexual assault nurse examiners are registered nurses with specialized training to care for patients who have experienced sexual assault or abuse.  Some rural communities lack access to these health care professionals, but a University of Arizona program seeks to improve services.

The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health in collaboration with UA College of nursing received a $1.49 million grant to provide free training to increase the number of certified sexual assault nurse examiners in rural and undeserved areas of the state.

The university's Western Region Public Health Training Center provides free training and education for the public health workforce in Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii and the U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands.

Trevor Umphress is with Amberley’s Place, an advocacy center that deals with sexual assault, domestic violence, child and elder abuse in Yuma County.  He says Yuma is fortunate to have access to certified nurse examiners.

"We’ve been blessed to have a wonderful program where we have six examiners on standby as well as their assistants, basically since we have been open we have been very focused on ensuring we have proper medical staff on hand," says Umphress.

Still, Umphress notes the funding for training is necessary, as there are areas that have only one nurse examiner on standby.

Faculty members from the UA College of Nursing will offer the certification courses to registered nurses and graduate nursing students.  The Center will also work with local stakeholders to improve access to sexual assault exams and work with local schools to educate the public about the relationship between violence and sexual assault.